Steam oxidation initiation for high aspect ratio conformal radical oxidation

ABSTRACT

A substrate oxidation assembly includes: a chamber body defining a processing volume; a substrate support disposed in the processing volume; a plasma source coupled to the processing volume; a steam source fluidly coupled to the processing volume; and a substrate heater. A method of processing a semiconductor substrate includes: initiating conformal radical oxidation of high aspect ratio structures of the substrate comprising: heating the substrate; and exposing the substrate to steam; and conformally oxidizing the substrate. A semiconductor device includes a silicon and nitrogen containing layer; a feature formed in the silicon and nitrogen containing layer having an aspect ratio of at least 40:1; and an oxide layer on the face of the feature having a thickness in a bottom region of the silicon and nitrogen containing layer that is at least 95% of a thickness of the oxide layer in a top region.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to semiconductordevice fabrication, and in particular to substrate oxidation chambersfor conformal radical oxidation of high aspect ratio structures withsteam oxidation initiation.

The production of silicon integrated circuits has placed difficultdemands on fabrication steps to increase the number of devices whiledecreasing the minimum feature sizes on a chip. These demands haveextended to fabrication steps including depositing layers of differentmaterials onto difficult topologies and etching further features withinthose layers. This is especially an issue in the manufacturing of nextgeneration NAND flash memory. NAND is a type of non-volatile storagetechnology that does not require power to retain data. To increasememory capacity within the same physical space, a three-dimensional NAND(3D NAND) design has been developed. Such a design typically introducesalternating oxide layers and nitride layers which are etched to producea desired structure having one or more faces extending substantiallyperpendicularly to the substrate. Such design considerations have movedthe field from oxidation of relatively low aspect ratio structures, forexample 10:1 aspect ratios, to high aspect ratio (HAR) structures, forexample 40:1 or greater aspect ratios. Prior fabrication steps haveincluded methods for filling gaps and trenches in HAR structures.

3D NAND flash structures are often coated with silicon nitride (SiN_(x))layers that are to be oxidized conformally in HAR structures. 3D NANDflash structures may have high or ultra-high aspect ratios, for example,a 40:1 aspect ratio, between a 40:1 and a 100:1 aspect ratio, a 100:1aspect ratio, or even greater than 100:1 aspect ratio. New fabricationsteps are required to conformally deposit layers on the faces of HARstructures, rather than simply filling gaps and trenches. For example,forming layers conformally onto the face of a HAR structure may requireslower deposition rates. “Conformally” generally refers to uniformand/or constant-thickness layers on faces of structures. In the contextof HAR structures, “conformally” may be most relevant when discussingthe thickness of oxidation on the structure faces that are substantiallyperpendicular to the substrate. A more conformal deposition can reducematerial build up at the top of the structure. Such material build upmay result in material prematurely sealing off the top of the trenchbetween adjacent structures, forming a void in the trench.Unfortunately, slowing the deposition rate also means increasing thedeposition time, which reduces processing efficiency and productionrates.

It would be beneficial to efficiently conformally oxidize HARstructures, examples of which include SiN_(x) layers.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a substrate oxidation assembly includes: a chamberbody defining a processing volume; a substrate support disposed in theprocessing volume; a plasma source coupled to the processing volume; asteam source fluidly coupled to the processing volume; and a substrateheater.

In one embodiment, a method of processing a semiconductor substrateincludes: initiating conformal radical oxidation of high aspect ratiostructures of the substrate comprising: heating the substrate; andexposing the substrate to steam; and conformally oxidizing thesubstrate.

In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a silicon andnitrogen containing layer; a feature formed in the silicon and nitrogencontaining layer having: a face substantially perpendicular to asubstrate; a bottom region; a top region farther from the substrate thanthe bottom region; and an aspect ratio of at least 40:1; and an oxidelayer on the face of the feature, the oxide layer having a thickness inthe bottom region that is at least 95% of a thickness of the oxide layerin the top region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlyexemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting ofits scope, may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1A illustrates a substrate with one or more SiNx HAR structuresthat have been oxidized, resulting in Si2N2O and SiO2 layers. FIG. 1Billustrates generally uniform thickness of the Si2N2O layer across theface of the HAR structure. FIG. 1C illustrates the Si2N2O layer formednon-uniformly.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graph of Conformality vs Temperature for SiN_(x)HAR structures.

FIG. 3 illustrates a graph of SiO_(x) thickness as a function of squareroot of time for SiN_(x) HAR structures.

FIG. 4 illustrates a substrate oxidation assembly according toembodiments of this invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a substrate oxidation assembly according toembodiments of this invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of substrate processing according toembodiments of this invention.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements and features of oneembodiment may be beneficially incorporated in other embodiments withoutfurther recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A substrate oxidation assembly may include a plasma source, for examplea remote plasma source (RPS), and a processing chamber designed toperform atomic oxygen radical (O) growth (e.g., conformal radicaloxidation) in high aspect ratio (HAR) structures, for example trenchcapacitor dielectrics, gate dielectrics, and 3D NAND flash structures.In some embodiments, the substrate oxidation assembly may utilize steam,such as water (H₂O) steam, to initiate radical oxidation of siliconnitride (SiN_(x)) material. The substrate oxidation assembly may bedesigned to initiate a reaction to form silicon oxynitride (Si₂N₂O) asan intermediary to forming silica (SiO₂). In some embodiments, thesubstrate oxidation assembly may include an external steam source, forexample an ex-situ H₂O steam source, such as an H₂O injector, anultrapure H₂O injector, a catalytic steam generator, or a pyrogenicsteam source. The steam source may be quartz lined. The steam source maybe fluidly coupled to the processing chamber by a conduit, which may bequartz-lined. The plasma source may utilize an oxygen-containing gassuch as a mixture of hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂) with H₂ concentrationin the range of about 5% to about 10%. In some embodiments, the plasmasource may be a RPS, magnetron typed plasma source, a Modified MagnetronTyped (MMT) plasma source, a remote plasma oxidation (RPO) source, acapcitively coupled plasma (CCP) source, an inductively coupled plasma(ICP) source, or a toroidal plasma source.

FIG. 1A illustrates a substrate 40 with one or more HAR structures 50,for example one or more SiN_(x) structures that have been conformallyoxidized, resulting in a conformal SiO₂ layer 60. Faces of the HARstructure 50 may be substantially perpendicular to the substrate 40. Forexample, faces of the HAR structure 50 may be at an angle of at least60° to the substrate 40. In FIG. 1A, a Si₂N₂O layer 55 is illustratedbetween the HAR structure 50 and the SiO₂ layer 60 on each face of theHAR structures. Note that a trench 65 remains between the SiO₂ layers 60on each face of the HAR structure. Trench 65 may provide access to thefaces of the HAR structures, for example for gas transmission and/orreactant removal. As aspect ratio increases, surface area of the HARstructures and the depth of the trenches likewise increase. As would beunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of thisdisclosure, conformal radical oxidation of the faces of the HARstructures may be hampered by O depletion, especially near the bottom ofthe HAR structures, for example in bottom region 51.

It is currently believed that thermally-activated oxygen (O₂) moleculesare thermodynamically unfavorable for oxidizing SiN_(x) into theintermediate phase, Si₂N₂O layer 55. However, once the intermediatephase, Si₂N₂O layer 55, is formed, atomic oxygen provides high oxidegrowth rate and conformality on HAR structures, such as 3D NAND HARmemory trenches. Due to mass and energy transport challenges, O andhydroxyl (OH) is thought to be less thermodynamically favored to oxidizeSiN_(x) into the intermediate phase, Si₂N₂O layer 55. Once theintermediate phase, Si₂N₂O layer 55, is formed as the intermediator,then SiO₂ layer 60 may thermally grow in the presence of atomic oxygen.

Heretofore, it had been expected that oxidation of SiN_(x) in HARstructures at temperatures below about 800° C. would have close to 100%conformality. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, it is currently believed thatan intermediate reaction produces an intermediate phase, Si₂N₂O layer55, which then reacts with O radicals to form the SiO₂ layer 60.Therefore, for conformal radical oxidation of the HAR structure 50, thethickness of the Si₂N₂O layer 55 should be generally uniform across theface of the HAR structure 50, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. However, recentresearch indicates that a metastable species, such as H or OH, may notform or appear near the bottom of trench 65, thereby lengthening theincubation times for the intermediate reaction in bottom region 51. Forexample, at a substrate temperature of about 700° C., in the presencesof O₂, for HAR structures, the Si₂N₂O layer 55 may form non-uniformly,as illustrated in FIG. 10.

The conformality of layers on HAR structures can be measured as a ratioof the bottom thickness (measured in bottom region 51, nearer to thesubstrate 40) to the top thickness (measured in top region 52, fartherfrom the substrate 40), and when multiplied by 100 may be referred to asthe “bottom/top %”. In some experiments, the bottom/top % of the Si₂N₂Olayer 55 at a substrate temperature of about 700° C., as illustrated inFIG. 10, is about 90%. This can also be seen at point 70 in the graph ofConformality vs Temperature in FIG. 2. It is also currently believedthat, at substrate temperatures between about 750° C.-800° C., in thepresence of O₂, for HAR structures, the rate of O₂ depletion allows theSi₂N₂O layer 55 to grow slowly near the top, providing for a bottom/top% of close to 100%. This generally establishes conformal regime 80(between about 750° C. and about 800° C.) in FIG. 2. It is alsocurrently believed that, at higher substrate temperatures, such as 850°C. and above, in the presences of O2, for HAR structures, the rate of O₂depletion allows the Si₂N₂O layer 55 to grow rapidly near the top,resulting in a bottom/top % of between about 80% to about 90%. This canbe seen at point 85 in FIG. 2.

Recent research indicates that a metastable species, such as H or OH,may not form near the bottom of trench 65, thereby lengthening theincubation times for the intermediate reaction in bottom region 51. Itis currently believed that atomic oxygen has a high species lifetime inHAR structures. However, H radicals do not tend to have a long specieslifetime. Therefore, H radicals are believed to carry-away nitrogen. Insome embodiments, an ammonia (NH3) by-product may form.

With this new understanding of the incubation period for theintermediate reaction, it should be appreciated that the rate of O₂depletion near the bottom may worsen as the aspect ratio increases.Therefore, even at substrate temperatures of about 800° C., it may bedifficult or impossible to achieve conformal radical oxidation forhigher aspect ratio structures. However, further raising the substratetemperature to improve the rate of O2 depletion may warp or otherwisedamage HAR structures. Similar principles may be applicable tocrystalline silicon (polysilicon), and aluminum oxide HAR structures.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the incubation period for the intermediatereaction may decrease in the presence of steam. The data presented inFIG. 3 shows at line 90 the SiO_(x) thickness as a function of squareroot of time for SiN_(x) HAR structures at 700° C. substrate temperaturein the presence of 5% H₂ plasma, for example, during RPO. The line 90crosses the x-axis at just under 5 s^(1/2), indicating the initialgrowth of SiO_(x). However, for the same SiN_(x) HAR structures in thepresence of 33% H₂ and O radicals (as would be the case with steam),line 95 crosses the x-axis at about 2.5 s^(1/2). Consequently, it can beinferred that the incubation period for the intermediate reaction favorssteam, while the growth of the oxide layer following the intermediatereaction favors oxygen. Thermodynamic calculations suggest that steam isa preferable reactant to form NH₃ as by-product. O or OH is lessfavorable to form Si₂N₂O.

FIG. 4 illustrates a substrate oxidation assembly 100, having a chamberbody 105 and a plasma source 110. The substrate oxidation assembly 100may include, for example, a 3D NAND oxidation chamber. Plasma source 110may be a RPS. The substrate oxidation assembly 100 may include, forexample, a MMT plasma reactor, a RPO reactor, a CCP reactor, an ICPreactor, or a toroidal source plasma immersion ion implantation reactor.The substrate oxidation assembly 100 may include, additionally orinstead, the plasma sources associated with each of the reactors above.The chamber body 105 may define a processing volume 115. The chamberbody 105 may enclose a processing volume in which O and OH are used toprocess substrates, and the pressure of the processing volume may bemaintained between about 0.5 Torr and 1 Torr to allow for plasmaexpansion and/or for uniform oxidation at the substrate. In someembodiments, the pressure may be maintained between about 10 mTorr andabout 500 mTorr. In some embodiments, the pressure may be maintainedbetween about 1 Torr and about 5 Torr. The plasma source 110 may utilizean oxygen-containing gas source 130, such as a mixture of H₂ and O₂,with a concentration of H₂ in the range of about 5% to about 10%. Insome embodiments, the gas provided by the gas source 130 can be, forexample, a gas that provides H₂ and, optionally, other essentiallynon-reactive elements, such as nitrogen or the like. The plasma source110 may operate at a power of about 5 kW. The chamber body 105 may havea total volume of between about 30 liters and about 60 liters. Thediameter of the cross-sectional area of the chamber may be about 20inches. In one embodiment, plasma source 110 may be coupled to thechamber body 105 through a gas port to supply reactive plasma from theplasma source 110 through a gas distributor 120, such as a shower head,to the processing volume 115. Gas distributor 120 may have, for example,one or more outlet ports facing substrate support 140. It is noted thatthe plasma source 110 may be coupled to the chamber body 105 in anysuitable position to supply a reactive plasma to a substrate as needed.

The chamber body 105 may contain a substrate support 140 disposed in theprocessing volume 115. The substrate support 140 may include anytechnically feasible apparatus for supporting a substrate duringprocessing. The chamber body 105 may contain a substrate heater. Forexample, in some embodiments, the substrate support 140 is in contactwith one or more heating elements 150 (or arrays of heating elements)for conductive heating of the substrate during processing. The heatingelements 150 may be electric resistance heating devices, inductiveheating devices, or hot fluid conduits. In some embodiments, chamberbody 105 contains one or more lamps 155 (or arrays of lamps) forradiative heating of the substrate during processing. In someembodiments, the heating elements 150 and/or lamps 155 may heat thesubstrate support to a temperature range of between about 700° C. andabout 900° C. Temperature may be controlled through sensors (not shown)disposed in the chamber body 105 and connected to a temperaturecontroller (not shown) that varies power to the substrate heater. Thesubstrate support 140 may have a cross-sectional area of about 70 mm².The substrate support 140 may be sized to provide a “rim” around theedge of a substrate. For example, the substrate support 140 may becircular and have a diameter of about 300 mm. In some embodiments, thesubstrate support 140 may have a diameter between about 10 mm to about40 mm larger than that of an expected substrate. Likewise, heatingelements 150 may be sized to provide a larger cross-sectional area thanthe substrate support 140. In some embodiments, heating elements 150 maybe circular and have a diameter of between about 320 mm and about 350mm. The plasma source 110 may be arranged to be coaxial with a line 142perpendicular to, and through a center of, a substrate supportingsurface of the substrate support 140, which may be called an “axis” ofthe substrate support 140. Likewise, the gas distributor 120 may bearranged to be coaxial with the axis 142 of the substrate support 140. Aplasma volume 125 may be defined between the gas distributor 120 and thesubstrate support 140 in the processing volume 115. The plasma volume125 may be coupled to the plasma source 110. The components of thesubstrate oxidation assembly 100 may be arranged to allow for gasdiffusion across the surface of the substrate facing away from thesubstrate support 140. For example, the gas may enter the processingvolume 115 at a point along the axis 142 of the substrate support, andbetween about 5 inches to about 6 inches away from (e.g., above) thesubstrate surface. The gas may thereby flow across the surface of asubstrate on the substrate support 140.

FIG. 5 illustrates a substrate oxidation assembly 200 with a chamberbody 205, a plasma source 210, and a steam source 260, such as anex-situ H₂O steam source. Unless otherwise stated, substrate oxidationassembly 200 is configured similarly to substrate oxidation assembly100. The chamber body 205 may enclose a processing volume 215, and asubstrate support 240 may be disposed in the processing volume 215. Theplasma source 210 may be coupled to an oxygen-containing gas source 230,which may contain a mixture of H₂ and O₂ with a concentration of H₂ inthe range of about 5% to about 10%. In some embodiments, the chamberbody 205 may include a gas distributor 220, such as a shower head. Gasdistributor 220 may have, for example, one or more outlet ports facingsubstrate support 240. A plasma volume 225 may be between the gasdistributor 220 and the substrate support 240 in the processing volume215. The plasma volume 225 may be coupled to the plasma source 210 forforming a plasma in, or providing a plasma to, the plasma volume 225.The chamber body 205 may enclose a substrate heater, for example in theprocessing volume 215. In some embodiments, the substrate support 240includes one or more heating elements 250 (or arrays of heatingelements) for conductive heating of the substrate during processing. Insome embodiments, chamber body 205 encloses one or more lamps 255 (orarrays of lamps) for radiative heating of the substrate duringprocessing.

Steam source 260 may be an external steam source, for example, an H₂Oinjector, an ultrapure H₂O injector, a catalytic steam generator, or apyrogenic steam source. The steam source 260 may be quartz-lined. Insome embodiments, the steam source 260 may be fluidly coupled to theprocessing volume 215 by a conduit, which may be quartz-lined. Steamsource 260 may be fluidly coupled to the processing volume 215 todistribute steam across the surface of the substrate support 240 and/oraround the axis 142 of the substrate support 240. In some embodiments,the steam may be distributed symmetrically around the axis 142 of thesubstrate support 240. The steam source 260 is coupled to an inlet ofchamber body 205, and the plasma volume 225 may be between the inlet andthe substrate support 240. In some embodiments, steam source 260 may befluidly coupled to gas distributor 220. For example, gas distributor 220may have one or more inlet ports, and steam source 260 may fluidlycouple to the one or more inlet ports. In some embodiments, the steamsource 260 may be a catalytic steam generator. The catalytic steamgenerator may generate ultra-high purity H₂O vapor by means of acatalytic reaction of O₂ and H₂. The catalytic steam generator maygenerate the vapor at low temperatures (e.g., <500° C.) by exposing ahydrogen source gas, for example H₂, and an oxygen source gas, forexample O₂, to a catalyst. The catalytic steam generator may have acatalyst-lined reactor or a catalyst cartridge in which H₂O vapor isgenerated by means of a chemical reaction. The catalyst contained withina catalyst reactor may include a metal or alloy, such as palladium,platinum, nickel, iron, chromium, ruthenium, rhodium, alloys thereof orcombinations thereof. Regulating the flow of hydrogen source gas andoxygen source gas may allow the concentration to be precisely controlledat any point from 1% to 100% concentrations. In some embodiments, theratio of O₂ to H₂ is between about 14:20 to about 21:20, or about 21:20.The H₂O vapor may contain H₂O, H₂, O₂ and combinations thereof. In someembodiments, the steam may contain at least 30% H₂. In some embodiments,the concentration of components of the steam and any carrier gas areselected to reduce the presence of O in the processing volume during theincubation period. In some embodiments, the steam source 260 may be apyrogenic generator. The pyrogenic generator may produce H₂O vapor as aresult of ignition, often at temperatures over 1,000° C.

In some embodiments, substrates having HAR structures may be loaded intoa chamber body in the presence of nitrogen. The substrates may beinitially heated by a substrate heater. During the initial heating, thesubstrate may be exposed to oxygen, nitrogen, or a combination thereof.In some embodiments, the substrate heater may be a conductive heater,such as a resistive heater, in contact with a substrate support. Theconductive heater may operate in a temperature range of between about700° C. and about 900° C. In some embodiments, the substrate heater maybe a radiative heater, such as one or more lamps directed at thesubstrate. It should be apparent that the substrate temperature may besomewhat less than that of the substrate heater. For example, thesubstrate temperature may be cooler than the substrate heater by about100° C. to about 200° C. In some embodiments, the substrate temperaturemay be between about 500° C. and about 700° C., even after 60 seconds ormore of heating. In some embodiments, after the initial heating thesubstrate temperature may be between about 750° C. and about 800° C. Insome embodiments, the walls of the chamber body may be maintained at atemperature around 50° C. The initial heating may proceed for apredetermined time (e.g., between about 60 seconds and 120 seconds)and/or until a measurement of substrate temperature returns a desiredreading. For example, initial heating may proceed until the substratetemperature measures to be at least 600° C. The substrate temperaturemay be measured, for example, by a pyrometer or a quartz thermocouple.

Once the initial heating has been completed, steam oxidation mayinitiate conformal radical oxidation of the substrate. Steam may beintroduced into the chamber body. Steam may be introduced in combinationwith a carrier gas, for example O₂ or an inert gas, such as nitrogen orargon. Steam may be introduced at a partial pressure of about 50 Torr orless. The substrate heater may continue to heat the substrate during thesteam exposure. The substrate may be exposed to steam for apredetermined time (e.g., between about 5 seconds and about 45 seconds).The steam may initiate an intermediate reaction on the face of the HARstructures. For example, Si₂N₂O may form on the face of the SiN_(x)structures in the presence of steam. In some embodiments, Si₂N₂O mayform conformally on the face of the SiN_(x) structures in the presenceof steam.

Once the steam exposure has been completed, the chamber body may bepurged. The substrate may then be exposed to plasma, for example from aRPS. The substrate heater may continue to heat the substrate during theplasma exposure. The plasma may conformally oxidize the HAR structures.For example, SiO₂ may form on the face of the SiN_(x) structures in thepresence of plasma. A layer of Si₂N₂O may remain between the face of theSiN_(x) structures and the SiO₂.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a method 300 is described with respect to theillustrative structures depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. The method 300generally begins at step 305, by enclosing a substrate having HARstructures in a chamber body. The substrate may include any materialsuitable for fabrication of the type of memory device (e.g., a 3D NANDflash memory device) identified above, for example, such as crystallinesilicon, strained silicon, silicon germanium, doped or undopedpolysilicon, doped or undoped silicon wafers, patterned or non-patternedwafers, silicon on insulator (SOI), carbon doped silicon oxides, dopedsilicon, or the like. The method 300 may then include, at step 310,initially heating the substrate. In some embodiments, step 310 may beskipped, and the method 300 may proceed directly to step 320, flowingsteam into the chamber body for a time period, for example, betweenabout 5 seconds and about 45 seconds. The time period may decrease asthe temperature of the substrate increases. The steam may be generatedexternally to a chamber body in which the substrate is disposed. Thesteam may then be flowed into the chamber body and/or across the surfaceof the substrate. While the steam is flowing, the pressure in thechamber may be between about 0.5 Torr and about 100 Torr. The steam maybe mixed with a carrier gas, for example O₂ or an inert gas, such asnitrogen or argon. The steam may initiate an intermediate reaction onthe face of the HAR structures. For example, at step 321 the Si₂N₂O mayform on the face of the SiN_(x) structures in the presence of steam. Thesubstrate may be heated at step 322 while the steam is flowing.Optionally, the method may include at step 325 purging the chamberfollowing flowing the steam. The method may then include at step 330flowing plasma into the chamber body for a time period. The plasma mayflow from a plasma source, such as a RPS, coupled to a precursor gassource. The plasma may include O₂ at a concentration of about 95% and Hat a concentration of about 5%. The pressure of the plasma may be about1 Torr to about 5 Torr. The plasma may conformally oxidize the HARstructures. For example, at step 331 SiO₂ may form on the face of theSiN_(x) structures in the presence of plasma.

In one embodiment, a substrate oxidation assembly includes: a chamberbody defining a processing volume; a substrate support disposed in theprocessing volume; a plasma source coupled to the processing volume; asteam source fluidly coupled to the processing volume; and a substrateheater.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate oxidationassembly further includes a quartz-lined conduit fluidly coupling thesteam source to the processing volume.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the steam source isquartz-lined.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the processing volumeincludes a plasma volume, and the plasma source is coupled to the plasmavolume.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the steam source is coupledto an inlet of the chamber body, and the plasma volume is between theinlet and the substrate support.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate oxidationassembly further includes a gas distributor coupled to the chamber body,wherein: the gas distributor has one or more inlet ports, the steamsource is fluidly coupled to the one or more inlet ports, and the gasdistributor has one or more outlet ports facing the substrate support.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the processing volumeincludes a plasma volume, the plasma source is coupled to the plasmavolume; and the plasma volume is between the gas distributor and thesubstrate support.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate oxidationassembly further includes a gas distributor coupled to the chamber body,wherein: the gas distributor has one or more inlet ports, and the steamsource is fluidly coupled to the one or more inlet ports by aquartz-lined conduit.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the plasma source includesat least one of a remote plasma source, magnetron typed plasma source, aModified Magnetron Typed plasma source, a remote plasma oxygen source, acapcitively coupled plasma source, an inductively coupled plasma source,and a toroidal plasma source.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate oxidationassembly further includes an oxygen-containing gas source fluidlycoupled to the plasma source.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the oxygen-containing gascontains 5% to 10% hydrogen.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the steam source includes atleast one of an H₂O injector, an ultrapure H₂O injector, a catalyticsteam generator, and a pyrogenic steam source.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate oxidationassembly further includes at least one of a radiative heating source anda conductive heating source operatively coupled to the substratesupport.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate heater iscapable of heating to between 700° C. and 1100° C.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the chamber is capable ofconformal radical oxidation of high aspect ratio structures.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, after conformal radicaloxidation, a thickness of a silicon dioxide layer in a bottom region ofthe high aspect ratio structures is between 95% and 105% of a thicknessof a silicon dioxide layer in a top region of the high aspect ratiostructures.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the high aspect ratiostructures have an aspect ratio of at least 40:1.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the high aspect ratiostructures comprise at least one of silicon nitride, crystallinesilicon, or aluminum oxide.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the high aspect ratiostructures comprise 3D NAND structures.

In one embodiment, a method of processing a semiconductor substrateincludes: initiating conformal radical oxidation of high aspect ratiostructures of the substrate comprising: heating the substrate; andexposing the substrate to steam; and conformally oxidizing thesubstrate.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,before the initiating conformal radical oxidation of the high aspectratio structures, loading the substrate into a chamber body in thepresence of nitrogen.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,before the initiating conformal radical oxidation of the high aspectratio structures, initially heating the substrate.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,while initially heating the substrate, exposing the substrate to atleast one of oxygen, nitrogen, and a combination thereof.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the initially heating thesubstrate comprises operating a conductive heater at a temperaturebetween 700° C. and 900° C. while the conductive heater is in contactwith a substrate support.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the initially heating thesubstrate continues for at least 60 seconds.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the initially heating thesubstrate continues until a temperature of the substrate is at least600° C.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, after the initially heatingthe substrate, a temperature of the substrate is between 750° C. and800° C.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, heating the substratecomprises: conductively heating the substrate support to a temperaturebetween about 700° C. and 900° C. with an electric resistance heatingdevice.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,while heating the substrate, exposing the substrate to oxygen ornitrogen.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,while exposing the substrate to steam, heating the substrate.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,while exposing the substrate to steam, maintaining a temperature of thesubstrate between 750° C. and 800° C.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the exposing the substrateto steam lasts between 5 seconds and 45 seconds.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the steam comprises at least30% H2.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the exposing the substrateto steam comprises: generating steam with a steam source external to aprocessing chamber, wherein the substrate is contained in the processingchamber; and flowing the steam into the processing chamber.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the generating steamincludes catalytic steam generation.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the flowing the steamincludes providing a symmetrical distribution of steam around an axis ofa substrate support in the processing chamber.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, exposing the substrate tosteam comprises mixing the steam with at least one of a carrier gas,oxygen, nitrogen, argon, an inert gas, and a combination thereof.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,after the initiating conformal radical oxidation of the high aspectratio structures, exposing the substrate to plasma.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,after the initiating conformal radical oxidation of the high aspectratio structures, and before the exposing the substrate to plasma,purging a chamber body containing the substrate.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, after the exposing thesubstrate to plasma, a thickness of a silicon dioxide layer in a bottomregion of the high aspect ratio structures is between 95% and 105% of athickness of the silicon dioxide layer in a top region of the highaspect ratio structures.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, after the exposing thesubstrate to plasma, a trench in the high aspect ratio structuresremains unfilled.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includes,while exposing the substrate to plasma, heating the substrate.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the method further includesforming the plasma from an oxygen-containing gas.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the oxygen-containing gascontains 5% to 10% hydrogen.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the high aspect ratiostructures have an aspect ratio of at least 40:1.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the high aspect ratiostructures comprise at least one of silicon nitride, crystallinesilicon, or aluminum oxide.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the high aspect ratiostructures comprise 3D NAND structures.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the substrate is disposed ina processing chamber; and the exposing the substrate to steam comprises:flowing the steam and a carrier gas into the processing chamber for afirst duration; discontinuing the flow of steam while continuing theflow of the carrier gas for a second duration; and flowing the steam andthe carrier gas into the processing chamber for a third duration.

In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a silicon andnitrogen containing layer; a feature formed in the silicon and nitrogencontaining layer having: a face substantially perpendicular to asubstrate; a bottom region; a top region farther from the substrate thanthe bottom region; and an aspect ratio of at least 40:1; and an oxidelayer on the face of the feature, the oxide layer having a thickness inthe bottom region that is at least 95% of a thickness of the oxide layerin the top region.

In one or more embodiment disclosed herein, the semiconductor devicecomprises at least one of a memory device, a 3D NAND flash memorydevice, a crystalline silicon, a strained silicon, a silicon germanium,a doped polysilicon, an undoped polysilicon, a doped silicon wafer, anundoped silicon wafer, a patterned wafer, a non-patterned wafer, asilicon on insulator, a carbon doped silicon oxides, a doped silicon, orcombinations thereof.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A substrate oxidation assembly comprising: a chamber body defining aprocessing volume; a substrate support disposed in the processingvolume; a plasma source coupled to the processing volume; a steam sourcefluidly coupled to the processing volume; and a substrate heater capableof heating to between 700° C. and 1100° C.
 2. The assembly of claim 1,further comprising a quartz-lined conduit fluidly coupling the steamsource to the processing volume.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theprocessing volume includes a plasma volume, the plasma source is coupledto the plasma volume, the steam source is coupled to an inlet of thechamber body, and the plasma volume is between the inlet and thesubstrate support.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a gasdistributor coupled to the chamber body, wherein: the gas distributorhas one or more inlet ports, the steam source is fluidly coupled to theone or more inlet ports, and the gas distributor has one or more outletports facing the substrate support.
 5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein:the processing volume includes a plasma volume, the plasma source iscoupled to the plasma volume; and the plasma volume is between the gasdistributor and the substrate support.
 6. The assembly of claim 1,wherein the plasma source includes at least one of a remote plasmasource, magnetron typed plasma source, a Modified Magnetron Typed plasmasource, a remote plasma oxygen source, a capcitively coupled plasmasource, an inductively coupled plasma source, and a toroidal plasmasource.
 7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the steam source includes atleast one of an H₂O injector, an ultrapure H₂O injector, a catalyticsteam generator, and a pyrogenic steam source.
 8. The assembly of claim1, further comprising at least one of a radiative heating source and aconductive heating source operatively coupled to the substrate support.9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the chamber is capable of conformalradical oxidation of high aspect ratio structures.
 10. A method ofprocessing a semiconductor substrate comprising: initiating conformalradical oxidation of high aspect ratio structures of the substratecomprising: conductively heating the substrate support to a temperaturebetween about 700° C. and 900° C. with an electric resistance heatingdevice; and exposing the substrate to steam; and conformally oxidizingthe substrate.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, beforethe initiating conformal radical oxidation of the high aspect ratiostructures, initially heating the substrate.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the initially heating the substrate continues until atemperature of the substrate is at least 600° C.
 13. The method of claim10, further comprising, while exposing the substrate to steam,maintaining a temperature of the substrate between 750° C. and 800° C.14. A semiconductor device, comprising: a silicon and nitrogencontaining layer; a feature formed in the silicon and nitrogencontaining layer having: a face substantially perpendicular to asubstrate; a bottom region; a top region farther from the substrate thanthe bottom region; and an aspect ratio of at least 40:1; and an oxidelayer on the face of the feature, the oxide layer having a thickness inthe bottom region that is at least 95% of a thickness of the oxide layerin the top region.
 15. The semiconductor device of claim 14, wherein thesemiconductor device comprises at least one of a memory device, a 3DNAND flash memory device, a crystalline silicon, a strained silicon, asilicon germanium, a doped polysilicon, an undoped polysilicon, a dopedsilicon wafer, an undoped silicon wafer, a patterned wafer, anon-patterned wafer, a silicon on insulator, a carbon doped siliconoxides, a doped silicon, or combinations thereof.